Finding Kichi within the Inferno
by P.Jay13
Summary: On June 22, 1988, lightning strikes Chelsea Pickett's successful ranch named Kichi Ranch, and that lightning strike results in a large fire. "Kichi" means luck. Has Chelsea's kichi run out? For swingdancer23's The Dares Forum. Slight Mark/Chelsea.


**A/N: Hey! This, people, is a dare for swingdancer23's Dare Forum. It's slightly AU, so I hope you don't mind. The topic is tragedies, but the story itself doesn't seem very tragic to me. I'm basing mine off of the fire on June 22, 1988 in the Yellowstone National Park, but instead of the park, it's gonna be Chelsea's farm. I hope you like it!**

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><p>Finding Kichi within the Inferno<p>

Chelsea Pickett was a well-known and loved rancher in all of Wyoming and some of Montana. She had a success rate of 99.99%, and almost never produced anything less than perfect. She was a hard worker and admired by many, but her only true love was her one-of-a-kind ranch.

Goddess knew how much she loved Kichi Ranch. "Kichi" was Japanese for luck or good fortune, something Chelsea was veraciously sure the ranch had brought her. From her respectful animals consisting of five cows, ten chickens, seven sheep, three horses, and four dogs, to her outstandingly profitable crops of all kinds, she was a busy bee. But to her, it was all worth it. Nothing would stand in the way of her happy way of living.

And then, of course, the fire struck.

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><p>It started out as a dark and cloudy morning once she had gotten up at six a.m. on June 22, 1988 to do her daily routine. She showered but didn't bother to shampoo her shoulder length chestnut brown hair, for she knew that she would only get sweat and dirt imbedded in it eventually. She got dressed in her jean shorts and yellow top, wearing a light orange cropped jacket over it, put on her red rubber boots, and lastly, completed her outfit with her signature bright red bandanna.<p>

She walked out of her expanded house, hardly believing that it was just a broken down shack when she first moved in. As soon as she stepped out of the comfort of her home, she shuddered because of the intense, cool air which was oddly uncharacteristic compared to the usual early summer weather, and the dry wind was blowing her hair around ferociously. She quickly shuffled inside to get her heavy yellow raincoat. It did little to warm her up, but she tried her best to ignore the frigid air and hurried to her huge field north of the house. Her three goofy beagle dogs ran out of their stables to greet her happily. She reached down to pat them all and continued to complete her chores.

Her tilled field was seventy-five percent littered with various summer crops -turnips, cucumbers, potatoes, corn, strawberries, and much more. Taking a deep, determined breath, she began watering.

.OoO.

"Phew!" Chelsea said triumphantly, wiping her forehead beaded with sweat and leaning down on her hoe. "Nothing like ranching to get you feeling so...exhilarated!"

"You don't say?" a masculine voice said. She gave a start and spun around to face the intruder.

Leaning casually against the post of her fence used to contain her grass was a man no older than her, wearing blue overalls and a white shirt underneath, a brownish-orange jacket, black rubber boots, and a blue baseball cap worn backwards on top of his shaggy blond hair. If he didn't look like a rancher, then she didn't know who did. Chelsea noticed how his smile seemed apologetic, warm, and friendly, and how it reached up to his dazzling emerald eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," the man said innocently. "My name's Mark, and I'm hoping to become a great rancher one day. I just moved to this district and heard much about the rancher before I even got to the area," he added humbly. He held out his hand for her to shake it and she obliged, feeling his warm, smooth hands.

"Chelsea," she introduced herself politely. "I'm 'said' rancher."

"It's nice to meet you," he said, then turned to her occupied field. "Wow," he breathed. "You did all this yourself?"

"Yep," she replied sheepishly.

"Very impressive," he said, lost in thought. Then he turned back to her. "If you ever have free time on your hands, do you think you could teach me how to do the farm work?"

She shrugged, "I don't see why not."

He beamed. "Thanks! Would early tomorrow morning be alright?"

"Sounds good," she agreed.

"Great! See you later!" He waved and began walking off her property.

Chelsea watched him walk away, a small smile on his lips. For once, she had something to look forward to besides her daily work.

When night came, the sky grew ominous and foreboding. The wind was howling beyond belief, shaking the branches of her orchard. She regretted seeing Taro, the old veteran rancher who lived in town nearby. He would've told her about any unexpected weather. Now it was heavily raining with the addition of lightning crackling in the air like a loud whip. Chelsea frowned petulantly, feeling bad for her animals. No doubt they were as frightened as ever. She sighed and decided to turn in for the night.

She got dressed in her pajamas and snuggled under the covers of her bed, closing her eyes.

.OoO.

The sound of her dogs barking woke her up. As soon as she did, she was aware of the unrelenting wind and rain pelting her window. She glanced at her clock which read five forty-five in the morning. Usually her dogs would never bark this urgently. She got out of bed, threw on a robe, and went to the door, but it wouldn't open. She tried again harder, but it wouldn't budge. She was starting to feel a little panicky, but forced it down and went to the window by the door. When she looked out of it, she immediately saw the problem —there was a large, blackened branch pinned to the door by the wind.

That's when she smelled the smoke.

Panic bubbled back up inside of her, and she went to the window that gave her a good view of the field, but she was almost too afraid to look. She forced herself to peer out the window, and she stared slack-jawed in horror at the field.

Everything had gone up in combustion. The neighboring trees were set ablaze, and every crop on the field was being scorched in the sea of flames.

All of her hard work... Gone.

She felt like crying her little sapphire eyes out, but she knew she needed to take action. Using the door was out of the question. She went to the window once more and tried to pry it open, but once again it wouldn't open. She could already see the smoke gathering on the glass, covering it in soot. She went to the other window and was able to get it open, but it proved too small for her to fit through. With the window now open, the smoke blew through it and puffed in her face, causing her eyes to water and send her into a coughing fit. She dropped to her knees, slumping against the wall.

How was she going to get out in time? People were probably all evacuated by now. The fire would most likely be spreading towards her unfortunately wooded house, and it would come and consume her any time now. The smoke was already weakening her and making her sight hazy. There was no hope. So much for "Kichi" Ranch.

"Chelsea!" a familiar male voice called. She blinked; could she have imagined it? Who would be on her ranch now, of all times?

"Chelsea!" the voiced cried again, sounding desperate. "Are you here? Answer me!" And then she remembered the rancher, who she had scheduled to come by around this time.

"Here!" she called weakly. "Help!"

"I'm coming!" he reassured her. Then to someone else he said, "She's here!"

She could hear chopping and hammering at the door for several seconds before the door swung open, revealing Mark. The background of fire in the doorway, his whipping hair, and soot covered clothes made him look like an angel of death, but the look of relief on his face was nothing short of angelic.

He rushed over and pulled her off the ground by her arm and ushered out the door. After that, things got dizzy for her. She was put on a stretcher and into an ambulance heading for the nearest hospital. All the while, Mark never left her side.

.oOo.

Chelsea woke up several hours later feeling moisture on her face. She felt under her eyes and realized that she had been crying. She sat up slowly, taking in the general hospital surroundings. The floors and walls were white with and lined with furniture. With a jolt, Chelsea realized that there was someone lying on the couch, their legs hanging over the arm of the sofa and their chest heaving slowly. Chelsea immediately recognized the person.

"Mark?" she said out loud, surprised. He bolted up-right, blinking his eyes rapidly from being asleep.

"Chelsea?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes roughly. "Is that you?"

"The one and only," she said sarcastically. "What are you doing here?"

"Not sleeping, if _that's_ what you're thinking," he said sardonically, but his smile was genuine. "It's good to see you back with the living. How are you feeling?"

"Okay," she said, but then the previous events flooded back to her. "My ranch...?" she asked hopefully.

"Um..." he hesitated, "it's...gonna need a bit more work."

"How much work?" she questioned gloomily.

"A lot. As in, _monumental_ work," he admitted sadly.

"And my animals...?"

He averted his eyes and stared at the linoleum floor. His hesitation was the only answer she needed. Her eyes welled up with tear until they finally spilled over. Mark came over and sat on the bed, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"It'll be okay," he said softly.

"No it won't!" she argued feebly. "Three years of my devotion was put into that ranch, only to have it go up in flames!" Her voice broke on the last word disdainfully.

"You could rebuild it," he suggested encouragingly, but she only shook her head gravely. Then he put on a determined smile and tilted her chin up to look at him. "_We_ could rebuild it," he rephrased.

Her eyes widened slightly. "You'd help me start all over; just like that?"

"Why not?" he said rhetorically, grinning cheekily. "I wanna be a rancher. There's no better time to start than now."

A series of mixed emotion rushed through Chelsea before she eventually pulled him into a tight hug. Mark was taken aback and blushing fiercely, but finally wrapped his arms around her.

Maybe, Chelsea thought with a smile, my luck hasn't run out just yet.

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><p><strong>AN: Well, here ya go, my entry for the dare! Actually, I feel it was rushed, but I guess that's just cuz it was last minute, after all. -_-' Well, feel free to agree or say otherwise openly:)**

**~Penny ToughGirl**


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